1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to dishwashers, and more particularly, to a dishwasher which removes unpleasant odors within the dishwasher and a method thereof.
2. Description of the Related Art
Generally, dishwashers are devices which wash dishes by supplying wash water in a washing tub of the dishwasher, and injecting the wash water through injection nozzles while circulating the wash water in the washing tub to coincide with washing, rinsing and drying operations.
In such a dishwasher, after a washing is completed, food dregs remain in a drain filter within the washing tub. In such a case, odors generated from the food dregs filtered by the drain filter permeate throughout a dish washing space, and cause unpleasantness to a user.
Therefore, various methods of removing the unpleasant odors within the dish washing space have been proposed.
FIG. 1 shows a vertical sectional view of a conventional dishwasher which prevents unpleasant odors within a dish washing space.
The conventional dishwasher comprises a casing 1 having a washing tub 2 formed therein, and a door 3 to selectively open and close a front opening of the dishwasher in a vertically rotating manner.
Upper and lower dish baskets 4 and 5, which accommodate dishes to be washed, are removably arranged in upper and lower portions within the washing tub 2, respectively. Upper and lower injection nozzles 6 and 7 are supplied with wash water, and inject the wash water into the upper and lower dish baskets 4 and 5, respectively. The upper and lower injection nozzles 6 and 7 are positioned under the corresponding upper and lower dish baskets 4 and 5.
A feed motor 8 is arranged under the washing tub 2 and supplies the wash water to the washing tub 2. Feed pipes 9 are respectively connected to upper and lower portions of the washing tub 2 and enable the wash water to be supplied to the washing tub 2 by the feed motor 8. A drain filter 10 is formed in the lower portion of the washing tub 2 and filters food dregs.
An air-flow hole (not shown), which controls the inflow/outflow of air into/from the washing tub 2, and a communicating vessel 11, which allows the washing tub 2 and the outside of the casing 1 to mutually communicate with each other, are connected to a portion of the washing tub 2. A net-shaped dreg removing member 12 is installed in an inlet of the communicating vessel 11.
The communicating vessel 11 includes an adsorption member 13 which adsorbs and eliminates odors of air passing through the adsorption member 13 from a dish washing space, a heater 14 which is installed to surround the adsorption member 13, and an insulating material 15 which is formed to surround the heater 14 and insulates the communicating vessel 11 from overheating.
The communicating vessel 11 further includes an exhaust fan 16 which discharges the air flowing from the dish washing space to the outside of the dishwasher. A filter 17 is disposed between the adsorption member 13 and the exhaust fan 16, and eliminates food odors remaining in the air passing through the adsorption member 13.
With the dishwater having the above construction, where a washing procedure of dishes is completed, food dregs remain in the dish washing space and are filtered by the drain filter 10 arranged in the lower portion of the washing tub 2. In such a case, odors generated from the food dregs are sucked into the communicating vessel 11 by the exhaust fan 16. The odors sucked into the communicating vessel 11 pass through the communicating vessel 11, while being adsorbed by the adsorption member 13, which is an activated carbon, installed within the communicating vessel 11.
On the other hand, the heater 14 heats the adsorption member 13 to a high temperature for a predetermined period of time, activating the movement of odor molecules. Accordingly, adsorptive power is improved, further eliminating the odors sucked into the communicating vessel 11. In addition, the odor air filtered by the adsorption member 13 passes through the filter 17 arranged in the downstream of the adsorption member 13. Therefore, the remaining odors, which were not adsorbed by the absorption member 13, can be eliminated. Furthermore, the possibility of food dregs flowing into the communicating vessel 11 along with the air sucked into the communicating vessel 11 is prevented by the net-shaped dreg removing member 12 installed in the inlet of the communicating vessel 11.
As described above, the communicating vessel 11 is connected to the washing tub 2 so as to enable the dish washing space and the outside of the casing 1 to mutually communicate with each other. Additionally, the adsorption member 13 is installed in the communicating vessel 11 to adsorb odors in the air passing through the communication vessel 11 from the dish washing space.
However, the conventional dishwasher having the above construction requires an additional communicating vessel, in which an adsorption member, a heater, an insulating material, an exhaust fan and a filter must be arranged. This complicates the construction and assembly of the dishwasher, and increases the manufacturing costs of the dishwasher.
In addition, the conventional dishwasher is problematic in its efficiency of eliminating the odors because the adsorption member is arranged in the communication vessel located outside of the dish washing space. Thus, it is difficult for the adsorption member to communicate with the air inside the dish washing space. Moreover, the conventional dishwasher is problematic in that, the exhaust fan must be driven excessively at all times to allow the air in the dish washing space to easily communicate, and be sucked through the adsorption member.